next story

Do or Don’t: Making a Documentary Film About Your Parents’ Unhappy Marriage

We’ve talked about what kinds of books we’d write and what sort of documentary we’d film. But would you ever create something that portrayed your parents in a less than favorable light?

Documentary filmmaker Cindy Kleine did just that. When I read Bob Mondello’s review of her new film, Phyllis and Harold, on NPR yesterday, I just had to share it with you guys. Kleine’s parents, Phyllis and Harold, have been married for nearly 60 years. It’s essentially been a loveless marriage and Kleine was inspired to make her film because she wanted to figure out “who these people are and why they're together.” In this clip, Kleine’s mother Phyllis reunites with a former lover, a man she had an affair with early in her marriage.

Heavy stuff, right? Though I can already tell watching this film is going to feel all kinds of awkward, I think the artistic elements are really beautiful. This is definitely going on my must see list.

What do you guys think? Would you ever make a film that portrayed your parents or family in a bad light? Why do you think the filmmaker did? What about writing a tell-all book about your family? Is showing their faces on film somehow worse? Do you consider this art, TMI or something else all together?